This invention relates to furniture seat structures and to spring assemblies which are utilized in such structures.
High quality furniture often is provided with a seat frame which has a plurality of coil springs mounted therein, and these coil springs are tied together in eight different directions so as to precompress them and limit their lateral movement with respect to each other. The manufacture of such units is a time consuming and expensive task due to the numerous steps which must be performed manually by skilled workers.
The present invention provides a modern alternative to expensive hand tied spring assemblies. The spring characteristics are comparatively quite favorable, the overall cost is less, and the unit can be manufactured by workers who are less skilled and experienced. Further, some of the springs used in the present system are interchangeable between several different units, thereby reducing the number of components which must be stocked by a manufacturer. The design is readily adaptable to the formation of seats of differing depths, and the modifications can be made to the seats without adversely affecting the seating qualities of the unit. A different sized seat can be produced simply by changing the border wire.
Spring assemblies constructed according to the invention also exert considerably less force on seat frames than many spring designs presently in use. In this respect, the invention makes it possible to use less expensive lightweight frames. Moreover, fatigue tests have shown that the units of the present invention are extremely durable.
The advantages of the invention, and its adaptability to the furniture industry will be evident from a study of the accompanying drawings and detailed description.